Menikas shook his head. “Keep Zalski guessing. Let that pinprick of doubt bore into him.”
“I like it,” said Ranler. He maneuvered his way through the window, followed by the brothers. Kora took up her crossbow. She handed The Book of the Book to Lanokas and was about to climb through after him when something stirred at her back and she whirled around.
The man with the peg leg, the man she had tied, was coming to. They stared at each other, his eyes dull but horribly alert. Shivering, Kora slipped through the square-shaped hole in the wall and joined her fellow Leaguesmen.
445
CHAPTER FOUR
Of Cards and Cage
It was dark by the time Kora’s group reached Yangerton. They lodged their horses at an inn with stables, an inn they planned to leave thereafter, in the heart of the city. Kora had never heard of people abandoning their mounts that way, but then, she had never come this far north. She had never ventured into a city larger than Hogarane, if Hogarane could be called a city, and Yangerton was home to hundreds of thousands. At any rate, the League’s request did not startle the innkeeper. He was happy to take their money, from what Kora could make out through the establishment’s grungy window. She still needed false papers, so she waited outside, fascinated by the throngs of passersby and the narrow, winding streets wedged between walls of stone that were buildings of a height she had never contemplated.
A different side of Yangerton greeted Kora when her group rejoined her. As they left downtown she saw no cottages like she expected; the people took rooms in long brick structures that were four stories tall, covered with shuttered windows, and all looked exactly the same, at least to Kora’s unstudied eye. None were in the best of conditions, but she gazed at them with longing, hoping to spend the night indoors and on a mattress. Cobblestones paved the busy streets, which were worn down and so filthy they were not a far cry from the dirt roads back at home.
To keep the Leaguesmen in sight was a battle in itself. More than once the area’s sheer congestion blocked them from Kora’s view, and if not for the sacks they carried she might have lost her companions completely. She kept a hand on top her wig, afraid it might come loose if she were jostled, but the throng had its merits. The two soldiers who crossed her path never noticed her. In fact, Kora doubted they distinguished any individual from another.
After several twists and turns and doublings back, Menikas and his brother entered one of the lodging houses. Ranler slunk back to wait for Kora, who was less than thrilled to speak with him.
“Is this where we’re staying?” she asked.
“I took rooms here years ago, under an alias. It ended up being the perfect place for us.”
So Ranler used to stash loot here. Why else would he need an alias? Kora looked at him, suppressing her disgust, then passed into a corridor covered with a dirt-packed rug. Plain wooden doors lined both sides of the wall.
“Is this where we stay? Normally, I mean?”
“When we’re in Yangerton. It’s hard to avoid Podrar, if you understand.”
They went up a staircase with a rickety handrail. The second floor’s hall looked identical to the first. The brothers stood before the third door on the right.
Ranler had secured for the resistance a three-room living space. The main room, where the entrance was, had gray carpet in much better condition than the rugs outside. A fireplace and brick chimney were set in the far wall, unused, near a small circular table. Doors stood closed to the right and left. The other Leaguesmen were sitting in mismatched chairs and stools or on the floor. They had changed into fresh clothes and washed, doing away with their disguises. Laskenay was wearing a dress for the first time since Kora met her, a simple white frock with long, flowing sleeves. She looked more elegant—and more out of place—than ever. Sedder jumped up when Kora entered, but his reaction was nothing to Bendelof’s.
“Thank goodness!” she cried, nearly toppling her stool. “It was getting so late!”
“What did you find?” asked Laskenay. Her voice was quiet, as though she were conscious of the adjoining lodgings.
“Zalski wants the Librette,” said Menikas. Lanokas tossed the tome he had stolen to Laskenay.
“That’s not good,” she said, flipping The Book of the Book to examine both covers. “That isn’t good at all.”
Lanokas echoed her general opinion. “From what I know, Hansrelto lived in this area, between Yangerton and Hogarane. Chances are the book never left. It’s somewhere, and it’s disguised.”
“We’re talking about a spellbook, then?” said Sedder.
Neslan looked confused. “How would a book be disguised?”
“Read the page with the folded tip,” said Kora. Laskenay read the passage about the book’s enchantment aloud. A horrified silence followed.
“We’ll never find it,” said Kansten. “It’s impossible.”
Neslan said, “At least I can’t see Zalski getting his hands on it either.”
Bendelof disagreed. “It’s waiting for a rightful owner, that’s what Laskenay just read. This Hansrelto, he was a dark sorcerer, right? Spent his time gaining power. He sounds a lot like Zalski. This enchantment could bring Zalski the book.”
“I’m not so sure,” said Laskenay. “The enchantment may change the book’s appearance, but it’s still a book at the core. An inanimate object. It has no control over who finds it. Zalski seems to think the book’s in Hogarane, do we know why?”
“There was nothing to say for sure,” said Kora. “Maybe he’s starting there because it’s smaller. Rule out the village before trying Yangerton….”
“That sounds like him,” said Lanokas. “Methodical. Thorough. There was even a list of places to search, some marked as cleared.” He pulled it from his pocket. Kora was surprised; he had snatched it from the base without her seeing. “The elites have at least another week of searching.”
Laskenay nodded. “If he’s taking Hogarane then we’ll take Yangerton, and pray the Librette’s here. My guess is it would seem an older object, something from Hansrelto’s time, maybe with a marking to reveal its true identity. Ranler, you’re from this city. Where should we go?”
Ranler thought for a moment. “There’s a couple of museums,” he said. “They’ll be difficult to search, though.”
Menikas caught his eye. “You’ll take those, with a few of your old friends.”
“And antique shops, hundreds. Some fortunetellers have really old wares too. I know of one for certain, a man named Markulas near the outskirts, but people like that would recognize the Librette.”
Laskenay said, “We can’t take chances. Zalski will learn of the raid. He’ll guess what we’re up to and send the guard here, to look for us. They’ll know the kinds of places we’ll be searching. We have a week. To be safe, I’d say five days. How many people can we call on to help, Menikas?”
“There are eighty here besides the nine of us, but they’re intercepting those jewel and weapons shipments. With the intelligence gathering that entails, they need everyone they can get, but I’ll go to Galisan tomorrow.”
“Who?” said Kora.
“The man in charge of the weapons operation,” said Menikas. “He can spare twenty people, I should think.”
“That’s something,” said Laskenay. “Listen, Menikas and I should discuss all this. Those who came with me, head back to the rooms across the street. We’re too crowded here. Menikas will join you later.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Neslan. “I’m exhausted.” He, Kansten, and Bendelof left.
“You have other rooms?” asked Kora.
Menikas said, “Galisan got them. Zalski still doesn’t know he’s connected with us. He can show his face where most of us would be arrested on sight.”
“How do you afford all this?”
Lanokas said, “More than one of us are nobles, remember? We didn’t leave Podrar empty-handed.”
“There’s a wash basin and fresh water in that room,” said Laskenay, point
ing to the right, “if anyone cares to freshen up.”
“Ladies first,” Lanokas told Kora. Sedder had lagged behind, but he motioned her to the washroom as the League’s two heads shut themselves away through the opposite door. When Kora stepped out, Ranler took her place. Sedder pulled her aside, speaking low so that Lanokas would not overhear.
“Today went well?” he asked.
Kora tried not to think about the dead man, or the scarred and legless man she had tied up. “As well as it could have.”
“Did you change your mind about all this? You don’t have to be here. Listen, I stopped by my cottage on the way out of Hogarane to grab that money….”
“I’m not going to Traigland. I can’t go there, I told you yesterday. I don’t know that I fit in here exactly, but it’s better than there, a million times better. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate….”
“As long as that’s how you really feel.”
“It is. It truly is.”
“All right then. I won’t bring it up again. I should probably head off, I think you’re staying here.”
Kora nodded, pulling him into a tight but short embrace. Sedder squeezed her shoulder on his way out. She stared after him, and needed a minute to realize Lanokas had taken his place beside her. She took a deep breath.
“How did I do today?” she asked.
“You did great.”
“I didn’t do much of anything.”
“You did what we told you, without losing your head. That’s more than most of us could say of our first missions.”
“I bet Sedder was worried sick.”
“I saw him jump up when you walked in,” Lanokas admitted. “You’ve known him a long time, you said?”
“Since before I could walk. We’d probably be engaged by now, if these past few years….” She paused. “Do you remember what he said last night? When Laskenay said he was welcome to join the League?”
“Something about you, wasn’t it?” Lanokas looked quizzical for about three seconds, and then his eyes widened, and Kora could sense, with great relief, that he understood her fears for her friend, her guilt on his behalf. He slid over a stool for her and hoisted himself on a second.
“I had Neslan bring Brianna a letter when the League was forming. I could have asked her to join me, couldn’t I? I had to be where I was. But I couldn’t endanger her. Sedder, now…. He happened to be with you when you were flung in the midst of this. You never asked him to stay. He chose not to leave, and that’s not your responsibility. Kora, his being here has its risks, but at least he’s with you.”
“I’ve been trying to tell myself all that. It makes more sense to hear someone else say it. It sounds truer.”
“Sedder’s not a child. He’s older than you are, isn’t he?”
“Two years.”
“He’s here of his own volition, for a slew of reasons. Why are you here? How much time would you need to explain that?”
“At least five minutes. Maybe ten.”
“Sedder’s the same way. You think he’s here because of you, and he is. Partly. You think that soldier humiliating him had nothing to do with his decision? The taxes he paid on his parents’ estate?”
“Zalski took three-fourths of what they had.”
“Exactly. That amount, it’s exorbitant. It’s indefensible.”
“Thank you,” said Kora. “Thanks for everything, I’d be losing my mind without someone to talk to.”
“Well, I needed to tell someone who’s not Neslan about Brianna.”
Kora stared at him. “No one else knows? Not your brother?”
“We hadn’t told anyone we planned to marry, remember?”
“It’s been two years since then.”
“It was easier to say nothing. It felt almost natural to talk to you once I got started, though. You weren’t a part of that past.”
At that moment, Laskenay opened the left-hand door. “Can I speak with you, Kora?”
Kora made her way to the other room; she passed Menikas, who joined his brother and shut the door with a wave of his hand. Once inside, the first thing Kora noticed were mattresses propped against the wall. “Thank heavens,” she thought.
“I’ve been talking with Menikas. We have to start searching for that book tomorrow, all of us. The fortuneteller Ranler mentioned, would you start with him? He’s the most distant. You can visit some others as you make your way back.”
“That sounds like a good way to do it,” said Kora, intrigued despite herself. She had never been to a fortuneteller.
“Would you mind going with Kansten?”
All sense of anticipation faded. Kora hoped she looked less surprised, and reluctant, than she felt. “I can do that,” she conceded. “If you need me to.”
“Kansten takes time to warm up to people, and I thought it might benefit you both to spend the day together. I can send you with someone else….”
“No,” said Kora. “We do need to trust each other, and well, we don’t. Not yet we don’t. Thank you for talking to me about this, though.”
Laskenay said, “You’re doing wonderfully, after the way you met us. If you could have seen how petrified you looked in that forest…. I had mixed feelings about you going with Menikas today, but sheltering you would have been a mistake. I hope it wasn’t too much. That was never my intention.”
“It wasn’t,” said Kora. “The raid actually made me see that I have what this takes. Possibly. In some strange way I haven’t yet figured out.”
Laskenay smiled. “Do you have any questions for me?”
“There is one thing,” said Kora. “I have no idea where to find this man you’re sending me to.”
“His name is Markulas.”
* * *
The next morning, Kora saw that bandanas were something of a fashion in the city. Women used them to keep their hair out their faces, so Kora fit right in among the streets filled with distant expressions. Her frock hid the dagger tied to her leg quite expertly. Kansten did not say so—she said little of anything—but Kora suspected she too had a dagger beneath her shabby dress. She wondered if Kansten thought she was trying to be stylish with the headwraps she wore, and felt uneasy.
They walked in silence to the outskirts of Yangerton, where the streets were wider and the buildings much less uniform. Kora counted eight fortunetelling shops before they stopped in front of the circular, wooden structure where Markulas supposedly unveiled the future for those who paid him. His building, like others of its type, was painted an unusual color to stand out: in this case, burgundy. The shop was nothing as much as an eyesore.
“What are we looking for, do you think?” Kora asked.
“We’ll know when we see it.” Then, “What do you think of fortunetelling, anyway?”
Kora was not in the mood for that discussion, but as her partner for the day seemed finally interested in some kind of interaction, she thought it best not to act too cold. “I think it’s interesting that people are scared of active magic, but they’re so fascinated by the passive forms that fortunetellers flaunt themselves.”
“But do you think it’s real?”
“I doubt it,” said Kora. “We can’t know what the future holds, that’s only for the Giver. I suppose it’s possible he gifts some people with the power to read the stars, or palms, or cards, like he gifts a precious few with sorcery, but in my opinion these tellers are frauds, every one of them.”
Kansten crossed her arms. “I don’t underestimate magic, active or otherwise. It’s a dangerous thing to do.”
Kora rolled her eyes and walked into the shop. It consisted of one room, with walls royal purple and a white curtain, pulled back, down its center. The half of the building by the door boasted shelves that reached Kora’s waist and housed various items for sale: teakettles, china cups, lamps and lanterns, an amulet or two. One shelf held only books, all on the topic of fortunetelling, its proper procedures and variations. Another stored a small assortment of crystal balls.
“Welcome,” said Markulas. His voice was short, crisp. “Have you come for a reading?”
“We came to look at your merchandise,” Kora told him. “I heard you have some beautiful antiques.”
“So I do,” he said. “If you’ll allow it, I would ask to do a reading first.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You have an air of mystery about you, both of you. I’ve seen its like only once in fifty-eight years.”
“We don’t have the time,” Kora said, “I’m sorry.”
“Free of charge,” offered Markulas. Kansten glanced interestedly, pleadingly, at Kora. “I don’t do this for everyone,” the teller told them. Kora, against her better judgment, nodded at her partner.
“All right, then,” Kansten said. She took a seat at the table in the back. Kora pulled a chair beside her, unable to decide if she felt more curious or terrified, while Markulas jerked the curtain shut and sat opposite the women.
“How does this work?” Kora asked.
Markulas shuffled the tattered, bent cards with a flourish, setting the pile before Kora. “Cut the deck,” he said. Kora’s hand hovered, hesitating. “Go on.”
Kora cut the deck near the top. Markulas put the cards she removed at the bottom of the stack.
“Pick three numbers under two hundred.”
Kora shut her eyes. “Eleven,” she said. Her brother’s age. “Forty-one.” Her mother’s. “And twenty-seven. Yes, twenty-seven.” Twenty-seven, selected on a whim at the age of five, had always been her favorite number.
The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) Page 7